Current situation of the Challenging Scale-Up Development of Hydroxymethylfurfural Production

Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a high-value platform chemical
derived from renewable resources. In recent years, considera-
ble efforts have been made to produce HMF also at industrial
scale, which still faces some challenges regarding yield as well
as sustainable and economic process designs. This critical
Review evaluates the industrial process development of sus-
tainable biomass conversion to HMF. Qualitative and quantita-
tive guidelines are defined for the technological assessment of
the processes described in patent literature. The formation of
side products, difficulties in the separation and purification of
HMF as well as catalyst regeneration were identified as major
challenges in the HMF production. A first small-scale, commer-
cial HMF production plant with a capacity of 300 tHMF per year
has been operating in Switzerland since 2014.